RE: [ALCTS-acqnet] Does anyone use Amazon Business?

Our library used an Amazon Business account for years. At the start of the new fiscal year last July, the entire college moved to an Amazon Prime Business account.

Amazon gradually over the years became our primary vendor for books and we also purchase other assorted products, such as office supplies, graphic calculators (which we circulate for use in the library), and the dry markers and erasers that we make available to students using our group study rooms. We spend a significant amount of our book budget with Amazon and a smaller sum that is charged to other budget lines.

I was concerned about our account losing the history of our purchases when we shifted to Prime, but that didn't happen. So we still have that purchasing history back to when we first began ordering from Amazon in 2003.

The library isn't the only part of the college that uses Amazon. Most areas use it for at least a few types of purchases. There is a membership fee for Business Prime, Just as there is for an individual's Prime account. It's much higher, of course. Our business office determined that it would be worth it to pay the fee so that the entire college could benefit.

We are still paying by credit card and then reconciling once month when the credit card statement arrives. It's easier now than it ever was, because the credit card company puts more details about order from Amazon on the statement. Not all hard to match up receipts to a specific entry on the statement. When we went to Business Prime, we were told that we would soon be paying differently. The library (and each other unit at the college using Amazon as a vendor) would open a blanket purchase order to Amazon. When we ordered something from Amazon, we would get an invoice and it would be paid against the purchase order. There was a feature that was "coming soon," and was supposed to be available by the time that our college signed on to Prime. But it wasn't, and the last time I talked with the Purchasing staff, they said it would be a while before we could implement using a purchase order for Amazon. Under this scenario, we would still order via Amazon's web site, but instead of identifying a credit card for payment, we would enter a purchase order number. The order would process and we would eventually get an invoice.

Cynthia Steinhoff
Director of the Library
Anne Arundel Community College
Arnold, Maryland

From: acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org <acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org> On Behalf Of Adams, Ashley
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2019 9:20 AM
To: 'acqnet_at_lists.ala.org' <acqnet_at_lists.ala.org>
Subject: RE: [ALCTS-acqnet] Does anyone use Amazon Business?

Hi Elizabeth,

My library uses an Amazon Business Prime account. We use this primarily for rush orders (faculty/research requests). We originally had an Amazon Business account, but shipping costs were high ($5.99 per order) and 2-day shipping was not guaranteed. After appealing to our University's Purchasing Department, we were switched to Business Prime.

Keeping track of purchases and verifying transactions through our payment system has been streamlined and seamless, and customer service has been super helpful when we've needed them.

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Ashley Adams

Ashley L. Adams
Sr. Library Technical Services Coordinator
[http://www.bentley.edu/files/Brand/Bentley_Master_horiz_1C.jpg]
175 Forest Street | Library 006 | Waltham, MA 02452
T - 781-891-2315 | E - aadams_at_bentley.edu<mailto:aadams_at_bentley.edu>

From: acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org<mailto:acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org> <acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org<mailto:acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org>> On Behalf Of Seago, Catherine
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2019 8:29 AM
To: acqnet_at_lists.ala.org<mailto:acqnet_at_lists.ala.org>
Subject: RE: [ALCTS-acqnet] Does anyone use Amazon Business?

Elizabeth,

My library did not use Amazon Prime, but we have started using an Amazon Business account. The big factor in favor of the business account from our point of view is that we get invoices that we can match to our orders without a lot of time and effort. Also, since we pay the invoices via the University payment system and not by credit card, we reduced the amount of paperwork we were doing to track each credit card transaction. We have had a couple of occasions when the account froze or disappeared, but Amazon support got it back in working order quickly. - Sincerely, Kate Seago, University of Kentucky.

From: acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org<mailto:acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org> <acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org<mailto:acqnet-request_at_lists.ala.org>> On Behalf Of "Zeitz, Elizabeth"
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2019 5:40 PM
To: acqnet_at_lists.ala.org<mailto:acqnet_at_lists.ala.org>
Subject: [ALCTS-acqnet] Does anyone use Amazon Business?

Good evening!

My library utilizes Amazon Prime (amongst other vendors) for acquisition of content. I've been getting a lot of advertisements encouraging me to create an Amazon Business account, but I'm concerned about losing some of the perk and benefits of the Prime account. Do any of you use Amazon Business, and if so, would you mind letting me know your experience with it?

Thanks,
Elizabeth


Elizabeth Zeitz '02
MBA'10    MLIS '19
Otterbein University
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